Wednesday, June 12, 2013

tolerations: it's the little things in life

After hearing life coach Meg Daly speak at one of my sorority's Chapter meetings, I asked her to share a little bit about what she talked about that day. We did a simple exercise (read about it below!) that really made me rethink everything. Basically, the secret to being happy is to get rid of the little things that you have to deal with on a daily basis that might not be ideal. Like...always being cold in class, for example. The solution seems obvious- wear a sweatshirt. Sometimes we're so caught up in schoolwork, friends, jobs, and the millions of other things that we can't see the simple solution. Sometimes, a different perspective on life can make all the difference. Once we rid ourselves of the little things that bother us every day, we'll have more time to grow in other areas of life.

With all the pressures facing high school and college students today, it's no wonder the stress levels of teenagers are at a record high. It seems that the "work hard, play hard" attitude is instilled in every freshmen's mind- and gradually increases in intensity throughout their undergraduate career, and more realistically throughout their life. The majority of the time, the work hard part of the equation can get a little out of hand. Depending on your weekend festivities I suppose the play hard part can get a little out of control as well ;) Actually though, everything you have to deal with on a day-to-day can suddenly pile up and prevent you from reaching your full potential. They always say "it's the little things". Well, what if you started ridding your life of these little things to see your stress slowly dwindle away? Crazy how that works- the less stress you have, the happier you'll be.

And that concludes my long introduction. Listen to what the expert has to say and try the exercise for yourself...

Removing Tolerations=More Energy for the Good
Stuff!

Imagine a day where your mornings are peaceful, smooth, and you
never forget your where you put your keys! Imagine your school or work day
running like clockwork with homework or presentations always on time. Imagine
your evenings as a time for relaxation, fun and and uninterrupted sleep due to
something called BALANCE in your life.

Sounds pretty cool, right? It may even sound unattainable to some
of you... but it’s not! What’s one of the keys to creating balance in your
life? The answer is removing tolerations that are bogging you down! It’s a
pretty simple exercise that if you do on a consistent basis creates a
whole lot of happiness in your life.

What are tolerations? It’s a fancy coaching term for energy
drains in your life. Tolerations are basically things we tolerate on a day to
day basis which we’ve learned, unfortunately, to live with. They can be as
simple as never having a fully charged phone to putting up with super toxic people
in your life. The scary part about tolerations, however, is how much they hold
you back. The beauty of removing them is it’s unbelievable how EASY life begins
to flow and the magical things which come into your life once there is space!

We find tolerations in several areas of our lives:

1. Home environment

2. Work environment

3. Financial areas

4. Personal relationships

5. Self Care

6. Food, nutrition

7. Technical equipment

8. Personal characteristics

9. Personal products

Within those areas are various examples of tolerations:

Toleration examples:

*Cluttered bedroom

*Sticky notes everywhere

*Always late for class

*Never paying bills on time

*Dirty kitchen

*Toothbrush needs to be replaced

*Issues with computer/printer/phone

*Aches and pains

*Friends always late

*Clothes that don’t fit

*Needy friends

*Can never find your keys

*Can never find a pen or paper

*Noisy neighbors

*Hair dryer not working right

*Never have enough food in fridge

*Roommates always eating your food

*Not enough healthy snacks

*Despise paying bills

*Always running out of money

*Moldy food in fridge

*Beauty routine in morning takes too long

*Never enough hot water in shower

*Difficult advisor or professor

*Issues with friends

*Issues with family

*Car is a mess

*Chain on bike always falling off

*Computer or I Pad screen always dirty

*Flowers and plants always die

*Kitchen sink always filled with dishes

*Home never clean

*Not enough room for car or bike in garage

*Significant other doesn’t call or show up when they say they
will

*Not happy about being overweight

*Lack of strength physically

*Lack of strength emotionally

*Low self confidence

*Not enough sleep

*Unhappy with hairstyle

*Beauty products not doing the trick

*Not enough alone time

*Don’t have an extra car or house key

*Schedule forces getting up too early

*Needy relatives

*Eating too much sugar or salt

*Drinking too much alcohol

*Negative attitudes from people in your life

*Low energy levels

*Poor grades

*Smoking

*Lack of boundaries with people

*Co dependency

*Too much junk email

*Too much time on Facebook

*Unmade bed

*Moldy shower

*Disrespectful roommate

*Not enough exercise

*Not drinking enough water

*Not enough time with friends

*Lack of fun

So if your life is feeling a bit out of whack and chaotic, give
this simple exercise a try:

1.Find
a quiet place and visualize each of the nine areas of your life listed above
one at a time. As you do, write down all the tolerations within each area.

2.Commit
to removing 3-5 tolerations per week over the next month.

3.Watch
the magic happen as your life feels more in control and balanced!

Good Luck and please let me know how this simple exercise has
worked for you.